Saturday, May 04, 2013

"Science, of course, is not like wheat or cotton or automobiles. It cannot be over-produced. It does not come under the law of diminishing utility, which makes each extra unit in the stock of a commodity of less use than the preceeding unit. In fact, the latest knowledge is usually the best. Moreover, knowledge grows or dies. It cannot live in cold storage. It is perishable and must be constantly renewed. Static science would not be science long, but a mere junk heap of rotting fragments. Our investment in science would vanish if we did not freshen it constantly and keep training an alert scientific personnel."Henry A. Wallace

Henry Wallace is perhaps best known as FDR's Secretary of Agriculture and Vice President. His role in the development of the government's role in agriculture and his support of FDR during World War II certainly merit fame and admiration.

However, he was also one of leaders in the development of hybrid corn, and responsible for the creation of Pioneer Hibred, which in turn transformed the farming of maize in the United States. He is also credited with convincing foundations to create and fund the International Corn and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMyT) -- the first in the consortium of international agricultural research centers that created the Green Revolution.